Tumblr One-Shots
by Ectoplasmbender
Summary: A collection of one-shots and drabbles from my Tumblr. All over the place genre-wise, so there's a healthy mix of humor and angst here.
1. Chapter 1

Tech Guy

Danny struggled against the glowing rope wrapped around his torso, frustrated that all attempts to phase through it were failing. Above his head green sparks were flying as beams of ecto-energy collided with the only thing standing between him and certain doom- a shield Tucker had managed to project from some modified Fenton-tech at the last moment. Danny ceased his wiggling for a brief second, mentally noting that he needed to thank Tucker for saving his skin later.

"Hey Tuck! Think you got any other magical gadgets left in your bag? Preferably something that can cut through this?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Ahh, there he goes ordering his little sidekick around again!" Spectra purred above them. She clasped her clawed hands together, her eyes gleaming behind her sunglasses. "Doesn't it feel amazing to be wanted by the savior of Amity Park, Tucker?" She sneered.

Tucker looked up from his upturned bag, gadgets and school supplies strewn about. He pointedly ignored the ghost and turned to Danny. "Dude, I don't think I can cut it with anything here!"

"Oh, not so helpful after all?" Spectra frowned, feigning disappointment.

"Shut up, will you!" Tucker hissed under his breath.

"Dude, don't respond to her!" Danny warned. He cringed as he watched Spectra's sharp grin widen, realizing that did indeed sound like an order.

Bertrand suddenly appeared at Spectra's heels, his beady eyes gleaming with delight. "Ohh, he's got the tech guy with him today, no goth girl? This will be a breeze." His body shifted, transforming into some kind of beast with razor sharp claws. He pounced, landing on top of the shield surrounding Danny and Tucker and began tearing at it with his claws. Danny started to panic as he watched the shield flicker.

"TUCKER!" He yelled.

"I know, I'm working on it!" Tucker shot back, his fingers flying as he attempted to rewire a small ecto-gun.

"My, my, wouldn't this be a more interesting fight if the human one was more competent?" Spectra mused. "Or maybe if he wasn't a powerless weakling." She added thoughtfully.

Bertrand continued to tear at the weakening shield, but he had begun to look rather bored. "Yeah…" He frowned. "At least the girl can fight decently and aim a gun."

Danny watched as Tucker faltered, the gun nearly sliding from his hands.

"Tucker…" he warned. "They're just trying to distract you!"

"Oh Danny, I think if I _really_ wanted to upset the boy, we would have won by now, don't you think?" Spectra spat out. She lowered her face, and hovered closer to the two of them. Her eyes met Danny's and he wished dearly to be out of that stupid rope. "How about this?" She began slyly. "Tucker, is it?"

Tucker tried to avoid meeting her gaze and focus on his task. "Aww, don't ignore me. Just because you're used to being ignored doesn't mean that I am."

He said nothing in response, but unwillingly flinched.

"Oh, hit a nerve, did I? Do you _not_ like being at the beck and call of someone far superior and more deserving of recognition than you? I figured it would be the highlight of your sad, puny little life." She said sweetly. "Figured it made you feel important."

Tucker scowled and swiveled to meet her now, the disassembled gun lying still in his hands. "I am important!" He shot back.

"Yes, I suppose you are important after all…who else is Danny supposed to copy off of when he misses school? If you died he'd have to go through the effort of convincing some other dweeb to let him copy their homework. Who knows, maybe they would make a better sidekick too!"

Danny watched in horror as Tucker's shoulders slumped, Spectra's own aura brightening by the second. "Tuck! Don't listen! You are so much more important than that!" Tucker turned to look at Danny, his eyes dull and glazed over.

"You don't have to pretend, Danny!" Spectra laughed. "Even Tucker knows his place!" At that moment, the shield finally dissolved under Bertrand's clawing and he pounced over Tucker and straight to Danny.

"Tucker!" Danny yelled. No response. "TUCKER!"

"Why are you yelling, boy? He's too weak to do anything. I think Spectra barely even tried this time!" Bertrand growled. He stalked closer to Danny as he struggled, as if he had all the time in the world.

"They're right." Tucker whispered. The gun lay useless in his lap, a few wires still hanging loose. "I can't do anything. I'm useless."

"Tucker!" Danny begged. "Don't listen to them. Don't you EVER listen to them! You save my butt all the time and you can do it again!" He watched in horror as Bertrand finally pounced on top of him, and he rolled to protect his vulnerable front.

A claw just barely swiped his side when he felt heat against his cheek as Bertrand was forcibly flung away from him. Danny opened his eyes to see Tucker standing above him, holding the gun he had been working on, the end still smoking. "How's that for good aim?" He spat at the shapeshifter.

Danny beamed at his friend, relief flooding through him. An angry shriek broke him out of his good mood though, and he watched as a very pissed Spectra flew towards the two of them.

"Uh, Tuck?" He began.

"Already on it." Tucker turned a dial and aimed the gun at Danny, but this time the powerful ray was focused into a thin laser beam which cut through the rope like butter. The rope fell in pieces around him, and Danny shot off to meet Spectra in the air.

Tucker slumped to his knees, emotionally drained and stressed. He laid on the soft grass and watched Danny fight an enraged Spectra. "Oh I'm so glad that part is not my job." He mumbled. He closed his eyes for perhaps ten minutes at most, before he felt someone nudge his foot.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Danny, who was back in human form and roughed up a bit, but otherwise okay. "Tuck…I know I never say it enough but-"

"No, no, it's cool dude." Tucker began. "Really, I almost messed it all up today, you don't need to thank me."

"No. I do. You're much more important than you realize and…I couldn't do any of this without you."

Tucker smiled wryly. "Because I'm your tech guy?" He asked.

"No." Danny said. "Because you're my friend." Tucker fell silent at that, but he pat the ground next to him and Danny happily plopped down, exhausted. The two boys watched the setting sun together, silent but enjoying the other's presence. Neither one had anything else to say on the matter.


	2. Chapter 2

Detention

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sam muttered, surveying the dreary detention room. The harshly lit room was empty except for uncomfortable desks, a single cracked clock, and a teacher's desk that had seen better days. Well, those items and the she-devil Paulina and her shadow Star.

"Is there really not anyone else today?! No punks, no ditchers, no pot heads, nothing?!" Sam swiveled around to face a bored looking Mr. Lancer, who was currently blocking her only escape.

"No." He replied. "Not even Mr. Fenton today, it's truly amazing isn't it?" Sam couldn't decide if he was being patronizing or if he was genuinely impressed.

Paulina's eyes snapped up from the nails that she had been filing and met Sam's in an equal show of resentment.

"How do you think I feel?" She whined. "I can't even pretend to ignore you with only three of us here." She paused, a thoughtful look settling on her features. "And there's no boys here to give me compliments." She added mournfully.

Sam rolled her eyes and instead focused on Star, who despite her usually chatty self, seemed oddly quiet and dare she say…forlorn.

"Well you ladies settle in and try not to kill each other. I have mountains of copies to make for tomorrow, so I'll be a few rooms down the hall." He gave them all a stern glare before continuing. "This means that I will hear any and all misconduct. They say this room has the thinnest walls in the whole school, you know." He added with a smile.

"Really? I've heard the walls here are cement under the wallpaper." Sam said under her breath. Lancer ignored her, putting his hand out. Sam sighed and dropped her phone into his open palm, and he nodded before walking off, the door swinging shut behind him.

Sam stood in place for a few more seconds, before awkwardly plopping down into a desk as far as possible from the other girls. She winced when her chair let out an awful squeak, echoing loudly in the silent room. Well…the almost silent room.

"Will you cut that out?" She demanded. Paulina's noisy nail filing halted, as she shot Sam a look filled with so much venom that even she was impressed.

"I have to keep my nails at an even and healthy length or they'll break. We don't all have freakishly strong talons like you." She snapped. Sam glanced at her own nails which she kept rather short, due to the constant ghost fighting.

"If you're going to insult me, at least make it accurate." She fired back. Paulina scoffed in return, but she put her file down, satisfied with her work.

"Whatever, freak."

It was so quiet that Sam barely caught it at all.  
"Excuse me?" She replied carefully.

"You heard what I said." She said haughtily. "I bet you're in here for setting something on fire. Or doing some weird satanic-ritual in class."

"I'm Jewish, you little witch." Sam shot back.

She took some satisfaction in seeing Paulina looked genuinely surprised by that tidbit of information. Paulina, taken aback, was still thinking of another comeback when Star- who Sam had forgotten about- suddenly broke her silence.

"For heaven's sake, would the two of you shut up!" She yelled.

"She started it!" Sam said, feeling a bit childish even as she said it.

"I don't care!" Star moaned. "All you two ever do is fight and scream at each other. Doesn't it get exhausting? It's exhausting to listen to! Just cut it out so I don't have to listen to it for all of detention." Her head dropped into her arms, and her voice broke into a sob. "I'm not even supposed to be here." She said softly. Her head lifted and she sat up again, her shoulders shaking. "I don't ever get in trouble, and now I'm stuck listening to the two of you and I don't know what's worse!"

Sam and Paulina both were stunned silent by the outburst. Sam, feeling a bit awkward and immature, mumbled an apology. Paulina shot her another dirty look before walking to Star's desk and rubbing circles on her back.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I know you don't deserve to be here, neither of us do."  
Sam raised an eyebrow at that, doubtful. Now that she thought about it, Star was a very well-behaved student. Paulina on the other hand…

"Um…" she began hesitantly. "Why are you guys here?"  
Paulina ignored her, but Star looked up at her curiously.

"We got detention for breaking the dress code." She answered. "I got pulled from class because Mr. Falluca said I was 'sending the wrong message' for showing my shoulders." She bit out angrily. "I just thought I looked cute when I put this shirt on. I wasn't trying to send any message."

"Especially to a gross middle-aged man." Paulina added. She decided to acknowledge Sam again. "I'm in for my skirt." She explained. "My algebra teacher said it was 'distracting to the boys'". She huffed. "As if they were paying attention to algebra in the first place." Sam gave the two of them an odd look, observing Paulina as she continued to silently comfort Star.

"Huh…interesting." she said. "I got pulled from class for wearing a crop top. Apparently my stomach is single-handedly preventing the male population of Casper High from receiving their education."  
Star sniffled and sat up.

"Yeah, and apparently their education is more important than ours. Science is like, the one subject I actually like, and they pulled me out of class! Now I gotta get the notes from someone."

"Right." Paulina agreed. "And I know I've seen boys at this school wear shorts shorter than my skirt. The only difference is that they have dicks and I'm cuter. But who gets dress-coded? Not them!"

Sam nodded her head. "Yeah it's honestly such bullshit. The dress code specifically targets girls and shames us by sexualizing our bodies despite most of us being minors!" She walked over to the desk next to Star's and sat down. "And you're totally right, why is it that teachers complain that we're disrupting education while also pulling us out of class and disrupting our education?"

"Oh you know why." Paulina said. "It's because our school values the education and comfort of boys over girls." Sam blinked, impressed by the poignancy of that statement.

"Right." She said. "You're totally right." She turned to face Star, who was looking much more passionate now than sad. "You know Star, your shirt is very cute! I don't think any of us should be punished for dressing in a way that makes us feel comfortable and confident."

"Thanks!" Star beamed at her. "And your stomach is crazy toned, do you work out?"

Sam laughed, thinking of the daily ghost hunting hijinks she took part in.  
"You could say that."

Paulina coughed, catching both Star and Sam's attention.  
"Um, you two are going to compliment each other but leave me out of it?"  
Star giggled, and reached for Paulina's hand and squeezed it.

"You look beautiful today, Paulina."  
Both girls looked at Sam expectantly, and she shrugged.

"Well your outfit is a bit pink for my tastes, but I think you pull it off." She admitted.  
Paulina beamed at her.

"Thank you." She said, only a bit smugly. Sam and her both grew quiet suddenly, realizing that they had just said nice things to each other. The awkward silence stretched out a bit longer, until Star broke it- again.

"Oh my gosh, grow up you two! You see how you can be civil around each other?!"

Sam sighed, perhaps more theatrical than necessary. "Well, I guess we have some things in common. I'm sorry for calling you a witch."

"I'm sorry for implying you were one." Paulina said. Star nudged her gently. "And for calling you a freak." She added.

"Good." Star said cheerfully. "Because we still have detention for the rest of the week, and I don't want to hear yelling every day."

"Maybe…maybe we don't have to have detention again." Sam said hesitantly.  
"Why not?" Paulina asked.

"Well, I think that after that little show of solidarity, we could be convincing enough to get other girls to join us in protesting the dress code. Maybe some boys too." Star and Paulina looked skeptical, but Sam continued. "Think about it- I know how to organize this kind of stuff. But you guys have more influence than me. And both of you had very valid points. We can work together and at least get the faculty to consider the harms of the dress code." Sam realized that she sounded maybe a bit too eager, so she quickly added, "and we wouldn't have to be stuck together in detention again." Star and Paulina mulled it over for a second and nodded to each other.

"I'm in." Star said, a determined look on her face.

"I'm not going to take fashion advice from anymore forty-year-old men." Paulina said.  
Sam grinned, crossing her arms and leaning back into her chair.

"Alright, ladies. Let's begin."

…  
When Lancer stumbled back into the detention room with his arms full of paper, he nearly tripped and dropped everything in his shock. There in the center of the room were the three young ladies, huddled together and writing a list titled 'Grievances Against the School Dress Code Policy'. He watched in stunned silence as the girls spoke amicably to one another, each giving suggestions and revising their list in a civil manner.

"Little Women!" He exclaimed. The three girls jumped, startled by his appearance, quickly attempting to hide their work.  
He shook his head, and carefully made his way to the old desk. "No, no, please continue. It's honestly therapeutic to see the three of you getting along." He slammed his papers onto his desk and looked up at their similarly shocked faces. "And I for one agree that the dress code policy is disruptive to learning." He added with a smile. "But if anyone asks, I didn't see this happening." The three girls smiled, and he sat in his desk, feeling more satisfied than he ever had before when on detention duty.


	3. Chapter 3

The Accident

It's amazing how everything changed in one moment. Danny Fenton's fingers had barely brushed the on button when unearthly green light erupted around him and consumed his body. Electricity leapt up his fingers, across his wrist and his arm, and a scream poured out of his throat. The light slammed into him, searing his skin and sinking into his bones.  
His electrocuted fingers blistered, and his eyes burned. His vision was lost to the sea of toxic green. The cries of his friends went unheard; the only thing he was aware of was his agony. He wailed as he felt his body die, his last dregs of strength fizzling out. But when his breath slowed to a stop, his pain did not cease. His heart stopped hammering and his lungs grew cold, but he did not die. The lights faded, and his vision returned.

Distantly he heard Sam call his name, but he did not answer.  
 _This is wrong_ , he thought. _I should be dead_. His head pounded and his tired body ached, but he found himself weakly stumbling out of the portal. His legs gave out and he fell, passing through Sam's outstretched arms before blacking out.

He awoke to worried whispers and a splitting headache. He blinked away the black spots in his eyes, slowly focusing on the concerned faces of Sam and Tucker hovering above him.  
"Danny!" Her voice broke, and she embraced him. He winced but relaxed into her hug. Tucker stared at him, his eyes wide and frightened.

"You're alive." He whispered. Danny frowned, his groggy mind trying to comprehend that. He wasn't alive though…he was sure of it. Even then he could feel the absence of a heartbeat in his chest. Surely this was all a dying dream, and he was already gone.

"Danny?"  
Why was Tucker so frightened? He flinched at every feeble move Danny made. Sam was staring at him now, waiting for him to respond.  
"I'm not dead?" He slurred, his mind still not completely clear.  
"You tell us, dude." Tucker said weakly.  
"Your heart wasn't beating, and you had no pulse."  
"Tucker," Sam urgently whispered, "He's still not breathing." Danny frowned, his thoughts becoming more coherent, and he sat up.

"That's ridiculous, I'm talking to the both of you, aren't I?" Maybe he was wrong about his heartbeat, surely he would know if he was dead. He certainly wouldn't be talking to anyone, would he? Sam and Tucker had to be wrong.  
"Danny…" Sam began carefully, "do you remember what happened?"  
"I turned the portal on, I think." He answered, unsure.  
She gave him a strange look.  
"You did. You were inside when it turned on, and you came out looking…different."

"Different?" He jumped a little when he noticed the strange, faraway echo of his voice. "Do I…still look different?" He wondered aloud.  
"Yeah." Tucker admitted. Danny shifted his weight, shakily climbing to his feet.  
"Whoa Danny, take it easy." Sam warned. "I think you hit your head when you fell."  
Danny ignored her, painfully walking to the lab's bathroom. He weakly turned the knob and the door opened with a creak. His hands fumbled with the light switch and he approached the mirror, with Sam and Tucker worriedly trailing behind him.  
"Dude, maybe you should wait a bit before you-" Danny paid no attention to him, his eyes trained on the dirty mirror in front of him. A shiver went through him as he stared at a face that was simultaneously familiar and foreign.

Gazing back at him was a pale face, with snow white hair and glowing green eyes. He felt his eyes widen and he watched as the pair in the mirror copied his movements. An ethereal glow clung to his face and the inverted colors of his jumpsuit, and when he looked down at his gloved hands, he saw the glow there too. This was him, he realized. That…that thing in the mirror is him.

"What am I?" He whispered.  
"I think you're a ghost, Danny." Sam answered sadly. "I think the portal killed you."  
Danny's eyes flickered to Tucker, who still looked terrified. _He's terrified of me_ , he realized.  
Danny suddenly thought of his parents and their obsession hunting ghosts and examining them, ripping them apart 'molecule by molecule'. His throat clenched and he sank to his knees, his eyes filling with tears.

"I'm dead." He stated. "I'm a ghost and my parents are gonna hate me now." His tears spilled, rolling down his cold, bloodless cheeks and falling into his lap. His shoulders shook and he felt sick to his stomach when he noticed that his tears were faintly glowing green.  
"Oh Danny…" Sam began. She reached towards him, and he yanked his shoulder away from her. She frowned but didn't push him. Danny paid no mind though, completely lost in his desire to be human, to be alive. He closed his eyes and tried to remember warmth and life, desperately wishing to expel the cold nothingness that had taken root in his chest. A spark of light flickered to life in his stomach, and a ring of brilliant white light formed at his waist, before splitting in half and traveling up and down his body. Where the light passed, heat poured back into him. He gasped in pain as his heart fluttered to life, pumping hot blood through his icy veins. His lungs heaved and he gasped, forcing air back into his body. He stared in shock at his hands now, taking in the lack of a glow. He turned to Sam and Tucker, whose faces mirrored his own surprise. He jumped to his feet and sighed in relief to see his black hair and blue eyes that he was used to.  
"I'm alive!" He cried out, a smile breaking out on his face. His fingers pressed against his chest, feeling the thump thump of his heart; it was slow, but it was there.

"Danny, this is great, but this makes no sense. You were dead!" Sam said. "You had no heartbeat Danny, you were a ghost."  
"Maybe he was just temporarily dead, Sam. A lot of people die and come back, it's not unheard of." Tucker suggested. "Maybe he isn't a ghost."  
"He fell through my arms, Tucker. Just passed through me like he was nothing. He's not human."  
"He looks human to me." Tucker refuted.  
"He didn't five seconds ago!" Sam pointed out, frustration clear in her voice.

Danny winced, not sure who to believe. He wanted to believe that he was 100% human so badly, but he knew that couldn't be true. He had felt otherness and death mere moments ago, and even now he could feel the pull of cold, pulsing energy deep inside him, buried just below his heart.  
"You're both right." He realized. "I am a ghost." Sam and Tucker stared at him in confusion. "But I'm alive too."  
"Danny, you just contradicted yourself." Sam stated.  
"Yeah dude, that makes no sense."  
"I'm both a human and a ghost, not dead, but not alive either." He responded.  
"You can't exist as two different things, Danny." Sam said, her eyes concerned.  
"Then I exist as a part of both."  
"…half ghost, half human?" Tucker asked, not getting it.  
Something stirred deep inside of Danny, something that hadn't existed before he walked into the portal.  
"Exactly." He whispered. "Half ghost." The words were familiar, as if he had heard them in a dream, or a past life.  
"Does that mean you can switch between a ghost and a human?" Sam asked, curiosity coloring her voice.  
Danny frowned, but he tugged on the cold spot in his chest, and the rings of light appeared again, this time forcing his heart to a stop and robbing his breath as they passed, spreading a cold deep into his bones.  
"Dude, that's so awesome." Tucker breathed.  
Danny's now green eyes met Tucker's. Tucker flinched but found himself staring at Danny's unearthly eyes.  
"Freaky…" he muttered.  
Danny found himself conflicted, and his rings snapped back into existence without his permission, changing him into a human again.

"I'm a freak now." He realized. "My parents will still hunt me, and they would happily dissect me to figure out what I am." He flinched and looked down to see Tucker and Sam hugging him.  
"We can worry about that later, Danny." Sam said.  
"You guys are fine with this?" He questioned, his eyes wide.  
"You're still Danny." Sam insisted. "We'll always be here for you." Tucker smiled and broke off from the hug.  
"Yeah, dude. We love you." A grin broke out on his face and he laughed. "And come on, this is kinda cool. It's like a superhero origin story. I wonder what kind of superpowers you have!" Sam jokingly punched him in the shoulder.  
"Tucker, let Danny process this first. I bet he's exhausted and he might have injuries. Let him rest." Sam motioned to Danny's hands, and he noticed that the glove he had turned the portal on with had a hole scorched into it. He peeled the ruined glove off, revealing a Lichtenberg scar that formed at his palm and travelled up the inside of his forearm, ending somewhere under his sleeve. 'How strange' he thought, entranced with the odd markings.  
"Danny?" Sam asked. "Are you ok?"  
"Yeah, I just…I need to sleep." He said, exhaustion leaking into his voice.

Tucker and Sam helped him to his bed, and at his insistence, they left him and promised to come back later that night.  
As soon as they left, the events of that day crashed down on him and his chest swelled with shame and fear. He wasn't human anymore.  
"I'm supposed to be dead." He muttered weakly. His eyes fixed on his scarred hand again. Suddenly Danny wasn't so sure if surviving the accident was a good thing.


	4. Chapter 4

They Broke Him

Maddie's fingers fumbled with the thread and needle, her hands trembling. She took a shaky breath and attempted to steady herself. She closed her eyes and reminded herself that she needed to focus on the task at hand. Her hands stilled, and she successfully threaded her needle. Wiping sweat from her brow, she set to work, weaving the thread in and out of pale skin. The gash she was working on was slick with blood, spilling in brilliant shades of green and red. The skin around the gash had peeled back, like white petals. Gleaming ribs poked out, and Maddie struggled to not break her promise to herself and cry.  
"Keep fighting Danny, keep breathing. Please, Danny." Her voice broke on please, but she squared her shoulders and continued her work; Danny wouldn't benefit from her tears. She thought she saw his eyelids flutter and his mouth twitch, but she knew there was no way he could hear her at this point. She almost hoped he was too far gone to feel anything.

She hastily finished up the last stitch, and pressed gauze to the leaking wound. She moaned in frustration as his blood began to seep through the gauze. Her fingers were soaked to the bone by this point, and her skin tingled from the cold ectoplasm; she didn't even have gloves to put on. She wondered if she might have had a better chance of saving her son if she was back home in their lab. Maybe she could have stopped his bleeding sooner with the proper equipment. Maybe she could have had time to tend to his fractures and bruises. But instead she was kneeling on an old, empty road. The cracked pavement under her knees was peppered with green and red, a painful reminder of how much blood Danny had lost. She focused on the smeared trail in front of her, the mark of where she had dragged her son. How many miles had she carried him? She bit her lip, conflicted with their proximity to the facility from which they had just escaped and her inability to move Danny without hurting him further. Her eyes switched back to her son's face, barely recognizing him under all the grime and bruises obscuring his features. She sighed, wanting nothing more than to see his sweet, blue eyes open and look at her. Her hand ached to brush his unruly hair back, but it had been shaved down to his scalp.

"What did they do to you?" She whispered helplessly. 'What did I do' she added silently. His thin arms, littered with cuts and scars from many needles, laid limp by his sides. He sucked in a shaky breath, his throat rattling. Maddie knew what that rattle meant, that he was good as gone now. Promise forgotten, Maddie gave in and began to cry, her frustration and guilt unleashing in a single flood.

She had done this to him, all because of her stupid ignorance and blind hatred towards ghosts. What kind of mother would miss all the signs? The missed curfew, the clumsiness, the injuries, his grades…it all screamed that something was wrong, but she had ignored all the signs. She was too focused on work, and it was this focus that had ironically landed the elusive Phantom in the hands of the Guys in White. Though incompetent, they had proven to be ruthless in their methods and absolutely convicted in their search for answers to Phantom's impossible physiology. Worse yet, Maddie was there the whole time, watching as they broke the enigmatic ghost boy, encouraging their research the whole time. But when Phantom cried out and collapsed after one particularly gruesome examination, Maddie found herself conflicted. Ghosts don't cry, she thought. They don't feel pain. But even as Maddie began to doubt the morality of torturing a young ghost, she said nothing. She stood and watched and never opened her mouth. Not until Phantom finally broke, exhausted and tired beyond words. He sank to his knees, and within seconds, he was replaced by the broken form of Danny Fenton. Maddie's heart sank in that moment, a scream spilling from her throat.

Maddie had been tugged away, but not without a fight on her part. She had screamed and begged for them to return her baby to her, but the men had hauled her off. By the next morning, she was forced to resign. But Maddie was not leaving without her son. And now, hours and hours later, she was stranded who-knows-where with Danny, who was slowly bleeding out. Exhausted and defeated, Maddie attempted one last time to lift Danny, but his limbs were slack and heavy. Her last hope gone, Maddie lifted Danny's head into her lap, cradling his broken body. Her fingers brushed over a cut on his forehead and she shivered.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I'm so sorry. I tried but I can't save you. This is all my fault." Her fingers slipped into his, holding his lax hand. Her gaze shifted to the sky, eyes wide and wet. Thousands of stars stared back at her, twinkling with cruelly beautiful light. "Look, Danny." She whispered. She knew his eyes were closed and unresponsive, but she adjusted his head anyways so that his face was exposed to the stars. "Look at how pretty they are." He shuddered in her arms, letting out one last, rattling breath.

Author's Note: an older piece, inspired by the song Danny by Nicole Dollanganger. A bit more angsty than my usual stuff, but oh well.


	5. Chapter 5

Portal

Danny gazed at the swirling portal in front of him, mesmerized by the vivid green. The portal seemed to be composed of different hues of greens, all of which spun and waltzed in glowing circles, like a psychedelic painting. Danny frowned, he had never quite determined whether he found the portal pretty or not. It was disconcerting to look at something so unnatural-looking, but at the same time the portal held its own unique beauty. He wondered if that's how people felt looking into his eyes when he's Phantom.  
The gentle humming of the circuitry was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the metal stairs.

"Danny?" Jazz asked, her eyes searching in the dark. She seemed to spot him in the halo of light that the portal cast on him. She flipped the lights on anyways, dimming the brilliance of the portal by a bit. "Danny, why are you down here?" She asked softly.  
He shrugged and turned to see her holding a clipboard and pen. His gaze darkened when he realized that she was here to psycho-analyze him.

"Jazz, I'm not in the mood to talk." He gestured to her clipboard, and she blushed.  
"Danny, I didn't mean to be pushy. I just want to help you." Her eyes shone with genuine worry. "This is the fourth time I've caught you down here this week. All you do is stare at the portal and it's honestly freaking me out a little." He shrugged again, forcefully this time.

"It's stupid." He muttered.

"Danny, your feelings aren't stupid. No matter how little it may seem, anything that bothers you is important." Her eyes flickered to the portal and she sighed. "And I highly doubt that this thing," she motioned to the portal, "is an insignificant problem."  
Danny smiled, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Positive. Whatever you need to say, I'll listen. And I promise I won't 'psycho-analyze' you." She hopped up on the counter, sitting between some old papers and discarded tools. Jazz made a huge show of pushing her clipboard far away from her reach. "See?"

Danny shuffled his feet, his hands tugging at the hem of his shirt. His eyes left the portal, instead focusing on his sister. His lips twitched, and he steadied his feet before speaking.  
"When I look at the portal," he began, "I feel…pulled towards it, like a magnet. But it's not a good pull." He scowled, trying to think of the right words. "It's like, I don't want to be here but I have to, you know? It's like a dull ache in me, and whenever I get close to the portal my heart speeds up. And I swear it pulses in synch with the damn thing." He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, shooting an angry look at the portal. "I just…want to let go." He sighed. He looked back at Jazz for affirmation.

"Ok…so this thing is drawing you here?" He nodded. Jazz bit her lip, studying the portal. "Danny, are you- are you okay with it?" She faltered on the words, not wanting to upset him.

He raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean by 'it'".

Jazz's blushed, but she pressed further. "I mean the accident. Have you moved on? Or is it still bothering you?"  
Danny seemed surprised by the question, his face betraying confusion.

"Well, I don't know what you mean by okay with it. It's not like I break down when I see it, or whatever."

"Danny…" Jazz chided.

He sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair.  
"I still have nightmares." He admitted.

"And what happens in these nightmares?"

"I relive the accident. Experience the pain again." His voice tightened. "The worst part is waking up- in the dream I mean. When I wake up after the accident, no matter how many times I have the dream, it's a shock every time."

Jazz nodded, not needing him to explain what 'it' was. She understood that the 'it' he was referring to was the moment when he woke up and realized that he wasn't human. That brief moment where he had thought he was dead and gone. She shuddered at the thought of having to relive something like that every single night.

She took a deep breath, steadying her voice. "Danny, I don't think there's anything wrong with you. I don't think the portal is drawing you here. It's not sentient or sinister. I think you're suffering from PTSD." She gazed at the portal, a shiver running down her spine. "You're scared and you're reaffirming that you're alive and that what you experienced was real. It's completely understandable."

"So what do I do about the dreams, Jazz?" His voice hitched, his breathing quickening. "I don't know how to stop them, I've tried. It's not like I'm scared of being a ghost anymore. I've gotten used to it."

Jazz's face fell, saddened by her baby brother's words.  
"Danny, getting used to something isn't the same as accepting it. Acceptance takes a long time and a lot of work."

"So how do I do it?"

She gave him a small smile, sliding off of the counter.  
"You admit to yourself that maybe you aren't okay, and maybe you're scared. But you allow yourself to feel and you don't push it all away. You talk about it, and soon your nightmares will be things of the past." She pulled him in for a hug, ignoring his icy skin. "You have me and Sam and Tucker to talk to. We're all here for you." She stepped back, her hand ruffling his hair. He swatted it away in feigned annoyance, but he laughed and hugged her back.

"Thank you Jazz. That means the world to me."


End file.
